


snow eating and other shenanigans

by lunarsparrows



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Gen, Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Multiple Warriors of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Starlight Celebration (Final Fantasy XIV), if canadians can eat snow with maple syrup poured onto it, sorry aymeric, then ishgardians can eat snow with birch syrup poured onto it, they eat snow, written in comic sans at 1 am
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:14:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28171482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarsparrows/pseuds/lunarsparrows
Summary: Pluto marches towards a pile of freshly-fallen snow. They watch in horror and fascination as she scoops up a handful and shoves it directly into her mouth.ziyue take kanin and pluto to gridania for starlight.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	snow eating and other shenanigans

**Author's Note:**

  * For [somniumfiles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/somniumfiles/gifts).



> this was a birthday fic written for my lovely friend elio @geckopin on twitter featuring his wol kanin zhwan, my wol ziyue wang, and our friend's wol pluto mewrilah! i'm so glad i'm able to drag people into ffxiv now, brainstorming wol interactions with friends is truly a serotonin trip like no other
> 
> i'm also ridiculously attached to the notion that ishgardians just. eat snow. with birch syrup poured onto it now. it sounds like something they'd do so i guess that's my headcanon of the day
> 
> unbetaed as always!

“Don’t worry, we’re almost there.”

Kanin huffs from behind the railing, ears flicking, but the rapid tapping of her foot against the wooden flooring of the airship trickles to a stop. The salty breeze and sparkling oceans of La Noscea had blurred into the hot air and glittering sands of Thanalan, blue seas turning to desert sands as the wind ruffled at their hair. The quiet chatter atop the ship comes to a stop when they arrive in Ul’dah.

Kanin jumps off the stairs the moment the airship lands, the spring in her step betraying her impatience and excitement. Ziyue nods at the arrival attendant as Kanin makes a beeline for the aetheryte plaza, teleporting to the thaumaturge’s guild as soon as she touches the crystal. 

There’s the distant sound of Pluto whining as Kanin drags her out of the building but they both notice that the resistance she puts up is weaker than normal, which means she’s most likely doing it to annoy Kanin in the first place. Ziyue chuckles as Kanin gently slaps her upside the head.

“Come _on,_ let’s _go_ already,” she says, yanking at Pluto’s arm. Pluto yelps and cradles it as she pouts, eyes welling up with fake tears. Kanin’s face remains impassive as ever, tail swishing in agitation.

“Alright, we should go before the next airship leaves,” Ziyue finally says, walking ahead of them to the aethernet shard before she pauses with a frown. “Pluto, have you attuned to all the shards in Ul’dah yet?”

Pluto blinks once, twice, shaking her head and laughing sheepishly with a high-pitched “teehee!” that rings out in the silence. Kanin’s uncovered eye and tail twitch before she picks her up and throws her over her shoulder like a sack of popotos, sprinting towards the airship landing. The sound of Pluto’s complaining cuts out abruptly as she takes the aethernet, sighing. 

* * *

Yellow sands give way to snow-capped forests as the airship flies over the Black Shroud. Pluto had peered up from the puddle she formed on the ground and immediately stood upon seeing the fluffy snow blanketing Gridania.

“Is? Is that-is that snow? Snow?” she asked, gripping the railing of the airship. Her ears were still standing up now and she practically vibrates with excitement. 

“What do you think it is?” Kanin had adopted a more stoic expression, leaning back against the rails with her arms crossed, but her twitching ears gave her enthusiasm about the snow away. Ziyue determinedly stands against the cold wind blowing into the airship, though everyone can see her shivering.

The airship descends with a cheer, Kanin and Pluto all but jumping off as soon as it lands. Ziyue trails behind reluctantly. They both stop and stand back to watch Pluto walk up the stairs, out of Carline Canopy, directly to the nearest pile of snow sitting a few yalms away from the central aetheryte, and immediately fall face-first into its cold embrace. 

There’s a moment of stunned silence as Pluto lies there. Ziyue blinks lethargically as she stalks over to pick their companion out of the snow.

“What in Llymlaen’s name are you _doing?_ ”

Pluto giggles again and frees herself from Kanin’s grasp, bounding off to her next destination and ignoring the pink tail swishing about in agitation. Ziyue sneezes once, pulling the coat she wears tighter together and rubbing at her eyes before starting forward as well.

“Don’t walk too far off,” she calls, rubbing her hands together to generate heat. “The main event at Mih Khetto’s Amphitheatre is happening soon.”

Pluto seems to ignore her words, making her way towards a frozen part of the stream. Ziyue blinks again and turns her head towards Kanin, who sighs and walks over to drag her away and back to the aetheryte.

“If she hasn’t attuned to all the aethernet shards in Ul’dah, I doubt she would’ve done so for Gridania either,” Ziyue observes. “We can just walk there. The scenery is plenty nice anyway.”

They make their way through the Rosewood Stalls, ignoring the way Pluto’s eyes fixate on the independent jeweler’s stall and her pleading face when they don’t stop. The amount of Starlight decorations increase the closer they get to their destination, gift boxes and snowmen resting upon fluffy mounds of white. Kanin jumps as they go, trying to reach the snowflake charms that hang from the cords strung with baubles and Twin Adder flags.

The sight that greets them at center stage makes Pluto and Kanin’s faces light up, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the glittering stars draped over the area. Ziyue smiles at that, leading them to their seats to get their gifts and wait for the concert to start.

A wave of excited murmurs sweeps through the crowd as darkness falls and the stars light up, bathing the area under the trees in warm gold. The sun takes what little warmth it brings as it sets, Ziyue shivering and moving closer to the other two. Pluto sing-songs something under her breath and a flame appears in her palm, burning bright in the frigid air. Ziyue immediately breathes a sigh of relief, resting her head on Pluto’s shoulder.

They sit quietly, watching the lights of the glowing stars dim until only the ones surrounding the center stage are lit. The performers walk on one by one, each dressed in shades of red and white and green, and prepare to start on the first song.

They start with Ishgardian Starlight carols, to which Ziyue blinks sleepily in surprise at, saying that she wouldn’t have expected a city as stuffy as Ishgard to have songs that didn’t have to do with Halone or war. The violinist leads into a popular Gridanian Starlight chant, one seemingly adopted from their neighbors in the Coerthas Central Highlands as they list the pillars of Starlight spirit out of sync. The performance somehow ends with the audience joining in on a sea shanty of all things, Kanin’s voice especially loud and clear as she belts out the words. Ziyue has nearly fallen asleep on Pluto’s shoulder from the cold, though she claps for the performers as they give them a standing ovation.

“We can all stay in an inn room if two of us share a bed,” Ziyue says as they walk towards the aethernet shard. “Any thoughts?”

“I’m not sleeping with her.” 

Kanin’s answer is immediate and absolute. Pluto turns to her with big teary eyes, a hand splayed on her chest in mock-betrayal. Ziyue chuckles quietly from where she’s standing before speaking to the innkeep. 

“A room for two tonight please.”

They step softly to the provided room, footsteps sounding on the wooden floor. Pluto immediately throws herself onto one of the beds, sighing into the pillow contentedly. Kanin drops her bag onto the other and heads to the shower, while Ziyue looks between the two of them with a vaguely conflicted expression on her face. 

“Do you mind sharing beds with me?” she asks Pluto, unbuttoning her coat and shivering.

Pluto blinks at her slowly, smiling in a way that shows her fangs. “Are you sleeping with me tonight then?”

Ziyue coughs like she’s choking, face turning red. She _knows_ Pluto isn’t suggesting anything, having taken a while to get used to her way of saying innocent things in an unintentionally flirty or indecent manner, but it still caught her and Kanin off guard from time to time. She waves a hand, pulling the top layer of her healer robes off. “If that’s okay with you.”

“Of course! Just be warned, people have said I’m a cuddler,” she replies happily, turning over onto her side and leaving space for Ziyue. The latter eagerly climbs into the sheets, greedily seeking warmth after staying out in the winter chill for bells.

Kanin comes out of the shower soon after, pink hair out of her usual pigtails and dripping water. Pluto goes next, and Ziyue turns to face Kanin, face barely peeking out from the heavy blankets.

“How did you like the performance?”

Kanin’s expression is thoughtful as she roughly wipes at her hair. “I liked it,” she says after a moment of contemplation. “I’ve missed the snow. The snow in Limsa Lominsa rarely sticks, unlike Gridania.”

“I’m glad,” the answer coming out muffled. “It seems that waiting in the cold for so long was worth it after all.”

The silence that follows is comfortable, Kanin toweling at her hair until it’s only damp and Ziyue focusing on keeping warm until Pluto comes out. The last of the three takes her shower quickly, waiting for Pluto to finish drying her hair before she and Ziyue cast their respective wind and fire spells, sending a gust of hot air directly at Kanin’s hair. They repeat the process for Pluto’s hair but stop afterward; Ziyue’s hair is short enough that it’s almost finished drying already.

“Good night,” they whisper to each other as the lamps are extinguished. Kanin starts snoring softly five seconds in and Pluto’s arms and legs are already wrapped around Ziyue. She sighs happily at the warmth and lets sleep overtake her.

* * *

“You know, there’s something I still haven’t done.”

Kanin is immediately alert after Pluto says those words. Ziyue watches attentively too; Pluto’s whims are unpredictable at best and dangerous at worst. They both remember when she was experimenting with risky spells a moon ago and how she nearly singed her hair off; they know to keep an eye on her now.

Pluto marches towards a pile of freshly-fallen snow. They watch in horror and fascination as she scoops up a handful and shoves it directly into her mouth.

“Llymlaen-!”

“It’s cold and good,” she calls out, making to eat another palmful. “Kanin, Ziyue, you should try it out!”

Kanin looks at Ziyue after a cautious glance at their purple-haired companion. Ziyue blinks blearily at her, nose red, before stating that the snow was indeed clean enough to eat but she wasn’t going to participate.

Kanin nods and walks to the snow pile Pluto is at, eyeing the small mound of snow in her hands warily before tentatively putting it into her mouth. Ziyue sees her ears and tail perk up and tries not to laugh as the people walking by give them confused looks.

“It’s an Ishgardian thing,” she explains, breathing into her hands. “There’s so much snow there and they have to find their fun somehow, so it’s become something of a custom to pour birch syrup onto freshly-fallen snow and eat it.” 

“Is it really?” Pluto shouts, ears standing up as well.

“Yes,” she calls back. “Try pouring birch syrup on it!”

They do as she says, Kanin procuring birch syrup somewhere from her bag and drizzling a small amount onto the snow. Ziyue can hear the faint despair of the Lord Commander all the way in Ishgard and she giggles at that.

It is certainly a Starlight celebration to remember. 

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELIO I HOPE U HAD A WONDERFUL DAY!!! i'm sorry i couldn't get this done in time for ur birthday but i hope u enjoyed watching me struggle with this on stream and that u enjoy this when u wake up! tysm for getting into ffxiv with me i really appreciate it a lot!! nico if ur reading this too tysm for getting into it too, i really do enjoy playing with u guys sm u have no idea 
> 
> thank you for reading, feel free to talk to me at my [twitter](https://twitter.com/lingwens)!


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